ITALY CLAIMS THE RECORD
Norwegian Aid--A Northerly Station--Premature Enthusiasm--Cold
Comfort--An Arctic Greeting--A Hasty Landing--Disorganised
Plans--Homeless Dogs--Making Fresh Plans--The Leader
Frost-bitten--The Start for the Pole--Driven Back by Cold--A Second
Start--First Detachment Lost--Anxiety for the Second--A Struggle
for Life--Third Detachment Overdue--Fears of Disaster--Safe at
Last--Italy sets the Record.
For the first time in the history of their country, the Italians entered
the field of Arctic exploration in the year 1899, when an expedition
under the command of the Duke of Abruzzi sailed in the _Stella Polare_,
and by means of dogs and sledges carried the Italian flag to higher
latitudes than any other explorers had succeeded in reaching. The record
up to the time of this expedition was that set by Nansen, who, with his
companion Johansen, attained to 86 deg. 14' N. The Italians reached 86 deg. 34'
N., or twenty geographical miles further north than the Norwegians.
The scheme of operations under which the Abruzzi expedition set out was
to sail as far north as possible along some coast line, establish winter
quarters, and, in the spring, to travel by sledges towards the Pole. The
expedition was composed of Italians and Norwegians, the men of the
latter race being taken to navigate the ship, the leader wisely
recognising that inasmuch as Italians were not used to navigation in
ice-bound seas, it would be hazardous to risk the safety of the whole
expedition in the early stages of the journey by manning the vessel with
them. The sledge party who attained the highest latitude were all
Italians, but the Norwegians shared the honours won, for without their
assistance the sledge party would have had little chance of penetrating
as far to the north as it did. In fairness, also, to all other men who
have striven so hard to unveil the secrets of the Arctic, it must be
admitted that the Italian success was based entirely on the knowledge
gained by other nations. The scheme of a dash by sledges was the scheme
that Peary had conceived and announced; the main depot of the Italians
was that which had already been established at Cape Flora by the
Jackson-Harmsworth expedition; the route taken by the sledge party was
in the vicinity of the route Nansen and Johansen followed; the ship was
Norwegian built and Norwegian manned; the men who set out for the dash
to the Pole had, therefore, all the hard work done for them. Yet with
all these advantages they only reached twenty miles further, an
achievement not to be compared with that of Nansen and Johansen.
The expedition practically commenced its journey from Archangel, whence
good progress was made to Cape Flora, a food depot being established in
the huts of the Jackson-Harmsworth party, which were found still
standing intact. After an ineffectual attempt to pass through
Nightingale Sound, the _Stella Polare_ got out of the ice on August 7,
and succeeded in reaching 82 deg. 4' N. latitude in open water. This was to
the north of Prinz Rudolf Island.
As there were indications that the ice would soon be setting along the
coast, it was decided to sail to Teplitz Bay on Prinz Rudolf Island and
establish quarters for the winter. This bay is open towards the south
and west, while the land on the north is level but rocky. The ship
forced her way through the thin coast ice and came to anchor near enough
to the shore to permit the landing of stores to be easily carried out. A
more experienced leader might have had some doubts as to the security of
the situation as a place for a ship to remain during the winter
movements of the ice. With the bay open on two sides, it was scarcely
possible for it to escape from the pressure of moving floes outside; but
the opinion was held that the ice along the shores was strong enough to
withstand any pressure from the open sea, and so the _Stella Polare_ was
allowed to become fixed in the ice close to the shore.
Brief journeys along the coast and over the highest land which could be
reached--Cape Habermann was found to be 2900 feet high--effectually
disposed of the claims of Petermann Land and King Oscar Land. There was
no sign of either, and there is little doubt but that the explorers who
believed they had discovered these lands were deceived by massive bodies
of ice. The rectification of the maps to this extent was a valuable
service.
By September all their arrangements for spending the winter on the ship
were completed, and with the material which would be required for the
preliminary sledge expeditions to the north, and the establishment of
food depots, all on shore, the explorers made merry on the evening of
the 7th in discussing the achievements which would result from the
working out of their plans. The difficulties which beset other
explorers, often from the very commencement of their journeys, had not
been experienced by them, and now, with their vessel almost as high to
the north as any vessel had yet been, with their complete outfit at one
of the most northerly stations yet established, and with everything snug
and secure for the winter, it is not surprising that they should have
allowed their enthusiasm to run away with them. It was the first time
that Italy had entered into the contest of winning fame from the
mysteries of the Arctic, and the outlook was so rosy that it almost
appeared as if they were going to signalise the fact by carrying the
flag to the Pole itself and showing to the world that the all-conquering
spirit of ancient Rome still animated the race. Men of colder
temperaments, the sons of the cold-blooded North, would probably have
postponed their rejoicings until the battle had been won, but the
enthusiasm of the South needed more than the gloom of an approaching
Arctic winter to subdue it. Wherefore the Arctic moved, and the children
of the South learned in a few brief hours something of the power and
might and majesty of the realms they had come to conquer.
An ice-floe, drifting in the sea beyond the bay, caught the edge of the
shore ice, in which the _Stella Polare_ lay at rest, as it passed. The
shore ice groaned at the strain, and along its length there ran a ridge
of hummock ice as the pressure sought relief. The line of the pressure
passed through the spot where the _Stella Polare_ was made fast. The
hummock rose against her bows and forced her ninety feet away from where
she had been, while, at the same moment, an increase in the pressure
caught her by the sides, heeled her over, and cracked her timbers till
those on board rushed to the deck under the belief that the vessel was
about to collapse. The rigging of the foremast was torn away, the planks
of the exposed side showed spaces of three inches between them, and
water poured in so rapidly to the holds that it was feared the ship
would go down. The hand-pumps were manned and worked, while the fires
were lit so as to get up steam and set the steam-pumps going, every one
else, who was not required for these jobs, working with might and main
to get all stores and provisions out of the ship and on to the ice, lest
she went down and left them stranded and foodless. The glamour of the
evening before was as a dream; the gloom of the present was a stern
reality to which they had awakened. The Arctic was giving a
characteristic and rugged greeting to the visitors from the South.
The stores were landed with the greatest rapidity, the activity with
which every one worked being still further stimulated by the news from
below that the one hand-pump, which was being worked by four men, could
not keep the water back, and that already it was almost touching the
bars of the furnaces. At one time it looked as though there would be no
chance of saving the fires, and had the water once reached them and so
prevented steam being got up, the plight of the explorers would have
been critical in the extreme. As it was, the Norwegian engineers worked
like heroes, and managed to have enough steam to start the steam-pumps
just as the water touched the fires in one of the boiler furnaces. The
steam-pump, assisting the hand-pump, was sufficient to keep the water
from rising further, but not enough to keep it back altogether. Neither
the steam nor the hand pump, by itself, could prevent the water from
rising. Both had to be kept going, therefore, although the number of men
thus taken away from unloading stores and provisions made that work
very much slower than was desired. But if the water reached to the fires
and put them out, there seemed to be little chance of saving enough to
keep the party alive during the winter. So they worked on with a brave
persistence, Italian and Norwegian alike, until they had all the stores
out on the ice, together with spars, ropes, sails, and all other things
needed for the construction of a shelter in which to pass the winter.
This was only completed after twenty-four hours of toil, and when it was
finished the worn-out party sought a brief respite in sleep. As soon as
the pumps ceased working the waters rose in the holds and over the
furnace bars, putting out the fires. Contrary to expectations, the ship
did not go down, the ice being sufficiently strong to sustain it from
sinking, and the water stopped rising when it had covered the furnaces.
Although the ship was now secure from sinking, it was heeled over to
such an extent that it was impossible to remain on board of it, so a hut
was erected ashore, and the stores stacked round it for the winter. For
ten days the entire party laboured at this work, and when it was
finished it was realised that all the plans for the preliminary sledge
trips must be abandoned. Instead of giving attention to reaching the
Pole, it was first of all necessary to see what could be done in the way
of repairing the ship so as to be able to get away before a second
winter could come upon them. A close examination revealed the fact that
the pressure of the ice had considerably affected the form of the ship.
The crank shaft was bent out of the straight, and the heavy iron beams
which had been put in to strengthen the vessel amidships were all bent
and twisted. The planks at the sides were started and gaped in many
places. The water, which had got in, had frozen, so that the furnaces
were covered in by a sheet of solid ice, while the same thing existed in
the hold. As the hand-pump could not lower the water alone, it was
decided to use a boiler and pump which formed part of the balloon
equipment. Although the use of these articles effectually terminated any
hopes of balloon experiments, it enabled them to get the water down
sufficiently to permit of repairs being effected. From the beginning of
October to the middle of November, the repairs fully occupied them; but
they succeeded in making the ship water-tight and available for
departure when the winter had passed. The bay, by this time, was frozen
over sufficiently to preclude any fears of further nips occurring.
[Illustration: ONE OF THE DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY THE _STELLA
POLARE_.]
On November 20 the last vestige of daylight went, and thenceforward the
explorers were in all the gloom of the Arctic night. A heavy snow-storm
entirely covered the dog kennels, so that the animals had to run loose
for a time. This was not satisfactory, for those of the creatures which
were unable to squeeze into shelter near the hut, were frozen to the
ice as they slept. To overcome this, big holes were dug in the ground,
and the dogs driven in, and the entrances walled up. But the Arctic dog
is a creature of resource, and when the men in charge of them went in
due time to feed them, they found that the dogs had made an outlet for
themselves by burrowing through the snow, and were again at liberty. A
wall of biscuit tins was then built round the inside of the holes, and
the entire mass frozen by pouring water over the tins. But the dogs
again burrowed their way out, and they were then left to their own
devices, the holes being left open, so that there should be some shelter
available for the dogs if they liked to use it. Mostly they did not
like, preferring to squeeze in between the sides of the hut and the
kitchen, and contribute their share to the entertainment by occasional
howling choruses during the long dark hours of winter.
During the long night the plans for the sledge expeditions to the North,
which had been so effectively interrupted by the nipping of the ship,
were further considered. As the original scheme could no longer be
carried out, a modified plan was adopted. Under this, it was determined
to send out three parties, which were to start about the middle of
February and press forward towards the Pole. Each party was to consist
of three Italians. One was to carry provisions for thirty days, the
second for sixty days, and the third for ninety days. The second and
third parties were to carry kayaks.
At the commencement of the expedition it was intended that the Duke of
Abruzzi should lead the detachments as the head of the third party, the
one which would have the honour of proceeding the longest way; but early
in January he had two fingers of his right hand frost-bitten so severely
that the two top joints had to be amputated. This debarred him from
taking his place at the head of the enterprise, and he appointed Captain
Cagni to the lead in his stead. As at first arranged, the other parties
were commanded, the first by Dr. Cavalli, and the second by Lieutenant
Querini. A fourth party was to follow the other three for a couple of
days, as an auxiliary, so as to allow of a saving in the consumption of
provisions carried by the others. It was also arranged that twenty-five
days after the start of the expedition, those of the company who
remained behind at Teplitz Bay should send a watch party to Cape
Fligely, in order to be ready to set out and meet, and, if necessary,
render any assistance which the returning members of the first
detachment might require. From the top of Cape Fligely a distance of
eight miles could be seen over the ice to the north, and a signal-post,
erected on the cape, would be visible as a guide to the returning
explorers as they approached over the ice. The watch party was to be on
the cape again fifty-five days after the departure of the second
detachment, and eighty-five days after the departure of the third
detachment.
The date of departure was ultimately fixed for the 19th of February. The
detachments, when ready to start, numbered, in all, twelve men, with
thirteen sledges, drawn by 104 dogs, each sledge weighing, with its load
of provisions, 617 lbs. The weather, at the time of the start, was
intensely cold, there having been a gale blowing for some days before.
When all was ready for the march to begin, the detachments set out,
after hearty farewells from those who remained behind, and who watched
them slowly pass out of sight over the ice and into the cold mysteries
of the white region lying towards the north.
The camp at Teplitz Bay was strangely quiet after their departure, the
absence of the dogs, no less than the absence of the men, rendering the
place lonely and deserted. It was not expected that the auxiliary
detachment would be back again for some days, and it was with very great
surprise that the Duke of Abruzzi, while walking near the hut one day,
heard the sounds of dogs barking near at hand. He hastened in the
direction whence the sounds came, and was astounded to see Lieutenant
Querini coming towards him. Immediately he came to the conclusion that
disaster had overtaken the expedition soon after starting, and that the
lieutenant was the bearer of ill news, if not the only survivor of the
detachments. The facts were, however, not quite so bad as this. What had
happened was that the cold had become so intense, after leaving Cape
Fligely, that not only the men, but the dogs also, suffered severely,
and were almost incapacitated. The experience of a few days revealed
many points where improvement could be made in the arrangement of the
sledges and their loading, and the commander, realising that only
valuable time would be lost, and perhaps the entire expedition
jeopardised, by pushing on under the circumstances, decided to return to
the main camp, so as to overhaul the arrangements, and reorganise the
detachments in the light of their experiences.
By the time the detachments were again ready to start, February had
passed and March 10 had arrived. The loss of time, consequent on their
return, necessitated an alteration in the programme of all the parties,
and when they set out the second time the order of march was for the
first detachment to return after twelve days' march, the second in
twenty-four, and the third in thirty-six. The detachments were also
varied, so that the main detachment should number four instead of three
men. A Norwegian, the engineer of the ship, was included in the first
detachment at his earnest request.
The second start was made on Sunday, March 11, and this time there was
no turning back. On March 28 the Duke of Abruzzi went, with the watch
party, to Cape Fligely, and constructed a shelter wherein to remain in
readiness to greet the first detachment on their return, the date of
which was expected to be April 4. On that date, and for some days
before, an anxious watch was kept from the lookout point towards the
north, but no signs were seen of the returning explorers. For a day or
so this did not cause any grave anxiety, as it was quite possible that
there might be a brief delay, but as the days went by without a sign,
and the days grew into weeks, there was serious uneasiness at the
continued non-appearance of the men. The time arrived when the second
detachment was due, and still the watchers saw no signs of the returning
men. Uneasiness gave place to grave anxiety, and the few who remained at
the camp were beginning to wonder whether they alone would return home,
with the summer, with only a tale of loss and disaster to bear to their
country, when a man of the second party reached the camp in a state of
great exhaustion. His story was that his detachment, the second, had
parted with the third on March 31, and had successfully negotiated the
return journey up to April 15, when an open channel in the ice near the
island had stopped their forward march. For days they had sought a way
round it, but, failing, the leader had despatched the man in the kayak
to reach the watch party, and summon assistance of a boat to convey the
remainder over the channel. The man had attempted to land at a point
where the ice was some fifteen feet high, but while he was testing it to
see if he could clamber up, the kayak slipped away from him and left him
clinging, with no hope of escape if he slipped into the water below. He
was one of the Alpine guides, and, with his ice-axe, he managed to cut a
way up the ice to the summit, though the struggle was a terrible strain
on his strength and skill. When, at last, he reached the summit, he was
met with a new difficulty. He did not know where he was, nor in which
direction the camp lay. He was without food, or refreshment, but he made
his way to a higher point, from whence he was, fortunately, able to see
the top of the ship's masts showing over the ice. This gave him the
direction of the camp at Teplitz Bay, and he made his way thither, with
as much speed as he could. When he arrived, he had been battling his way
for over twenty-four hours, from the time he lost his kayak, a feat of
very great endurance.
In answer to anxious questions as to the first detachment, he said he
and all the rest believed the first detachment was in the camp, for it
had left the main body in time to reach Cape Fligely by April 2. At the
time it started back, owing to the drift of the ice, the island could be
distinctly seen, so that there could be no difficulty as to the men
knowing which way to go. Moreover, a change had been made in the
command, and the first detachment had left under the command of
Lieutenant Querini, Dr. Cavalli having been placed at the head of the
second detachment owing to his showing greater staying powers on the
march than the lieutenant.
As soon as the rest of the detachment had been conveyed from the ice
pack to the camp, Dr. Cavalli corroborated the story and shared, with
the rest of the expedition, the anxiety at the non-arrival of the little
band. His detachment, he said, had parted with the main party on 31st
March, and had seen Captain Cagni and his companions continue their way
to the north, with a train of six sledges and forty-eight dogs. The
first detachment might, he suggested, have been carried away to the
east, and, as they had no kayak with them, they might have been cut off
by an open channel and so prevented from reaching the island. Relief
parties were immediately sent out to search the ice in that direction,
and also to see whether the men had taken refuge on the islands, further
to the north-east, where Nansen and Johansen had passed their winter.
The search was continued until May 10, when the parties returned, having
searched far and wide but without finding any trace of the missing
detachment. It was then hoped that they had made their way to Cape
Flora, where there was an abundance of food and other necessaries, but
when the _Stella Polare_ touched there, on her way home, no signs were
found of the missing men, and it was then realised that they were lost.
How, or when, or where, they had met their end, no one could form any
opinion. A break in the ice may have precipitated them into a channel;
cold may have overcome them as they slept; moving hummocks may have
overwhelmed them, or a sudden snow-storm may have caused them to lose
their direction, and have led them into dangers they were not able to
escape. When no trace could be found of them, and no vestige of their
outfit discovered on the ice, or the islands, there was only one thing
the survivors could realise, and that was that their comrades had gone
out of the world in silence, in mystery, and in sacrifice to the
knowledge of humanity.
[Illustration: SKETCH MAP
Showing Captain Cagni's farthest north 86 deg. 34', being 20' beyond the
point reached by Nansen.]
As the month of May gradually passed, the members of the expedition
gathered at Cape Fligely so as to maintain a steady watch for the return
of the main detachment. In addition to the watch party there was also a
party at Teplitz Bay, and word was sent from one place to the other as
the days went by, while short journeys were constantly being taken along
the shores on the lookout for the return of Captain Cagni and his
companions. The provisions they had with them were only calculated to
last until May 26, but the leader had expressed his intention, if he had
not succeeded in reaching far enough to the north, of proceeding on
reduced rations so as to attain as high a latitude as possible before
returning. On the reduced scale they would be able to subsist until
June 10, but when that date arrived and still there was no sign of them,
the remainder of the expedition became alarmed. The silent disappearance
of Lieutenant Querini and his companions did not tend to alleviate their
anxiety. A week passed without any sign; June 20th came and went, and
the next two days saw the little community depressed and sad at what
they regarded as the fatal silence. On the 23rd they barely exchanged
words with one another, lest they should add to each other's sorrow by
expressing the almost hopeless fear that every one felt. On the evening
of that day the watch party at Cape Fligely had retired to their shelter
when they heard the barking of dogs. Hastily going outside, they saw a
man, with a sledge, advancing from the direction of Teplitz Bay. They
waited in silence for him to come up, fearing he brought news of
disaster. But their fears were turned to joy when he shouted the news
that the third detachment had safely returned to camp, having penetrated
as far as 86 deg. 34' N., and so established the "farthest north" record of
any expedition yet despatched to the Arctic.
The story Captain Cagni had to tell was one of persistent courage and
determination. The straits to which he and his companions were reduced
were shown by the condition of their equipment. They had a single
sledge in a very damaged state, a bottomless saucepan, a broken cooking
lamp, and a ragged tent. Their dogs were reduced to seven, the others
having been killed to feed the survivors as well as the men. On the
return journey the drift of the ice had carried them to the west, so
that when they reached the latitude of Teplitz Bay they were many miles
to the west of it. The condition of the ice had compelled them to go
still further away before they were able to turn and head direct for the
camp.
From March 11 to April 24 they marched steadily towards the north, and
covered something like six hundred miles in ninety-five days. For the
whole period of 104 days they marched 753 miles. During the first stage
of the journey they maintained a speed of five miles a day, but during
the second stage they doubled that, and covered, on an average, ten
miles a day. From their experience they argued it was impossible to
reach the Pole from any such base as that at Teplitz Bay while dog
sledges were the only available means of transport.
With the return of this detachment the work of the expedition was at an
end. The vessel was freed from the ice after a little difficulty, and,
proving to be seaworthy, steamed out of the bay on August 14. They
arrived at Hammerfest without mishap on September 5.